


here in the quiet light

by joshllyman



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alcohol, M/M, Mentioned Joey Lucas/Donna Moss, Mentioned Zoey Bartlett/Charlie Young
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:02:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23891284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshllyman/pseuds/joshllyman
Summary: Josh wakes up in the middle of the night and finds he's not alone in bed, which presents several problems.
Relationships: Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn
Comments: 13
Kudos: 122





	here in the quiet light

**Author's Note:**

> me, writing west wing fanfiction in the year of our lord 2020? it's more likely than you think   
> (god i missed these boys)

Josh wakes up somewhere in between “still drunk” and “hangover starting” with an uncomfortable burning in his chest and the feeling of strange sheets beneath him. He shouldn’t be surprised that drinking as much vodka as he did gives him heartburn these days, but it’s a reminder of his dwindling youth anyway. Blindly he reaches behind him for the Tums that live on his bedside table. He smacks the wood loudly several times and comes up empty-handed, and he’s about to roll over and actually  _ open his eyes _ (the shame of it all) when a voice grumbles low beside him.

“They’re over here.” 

The bottle is pressed into his chest, and the sleeping figure beside him turns over and steals a little bit of blanket.

Well, shit. Had he gone home with someone last night? It seems...unlike him, all things considered. Sure, hoards of fangirls love crying over him on the Internet, but his heart’s long been in lockdown over someone he can’t have, and he doesn’t usually have the time or inclination to try to find anyone to fill that particular void.

He pries his eyes open, pours two chewables out from the bottle, and waits for his vision to adjust to the dark so he can assess the damage he’s done.

Slowly, details begin to fill in. Decidedly male, which, while unsurprising, is problematic. It makes the inevitable morning after talk much more complicated. Broad shoulders, dark hair—he certainly has a type. Pure, unblemished skin covers the expanse of his back, with not even a freckle in sight.  _ Beautiful _ , Josh thinks, unbidden, and he has to banish that thought before any more terrible ideas fill his mind.

He tries to fill in details from the night before, but his mind is hazy and still just a little touched by the alcohol. It had been Charlie’s birthday—there had been quite a few shots consumed. He’d been flirting with Sam, because when wasn’t he flirting with Sam, especially given the excuse of being under the influence. He vaguely remembers Donna leaving for the night, arm in arm with Joey—but that can’t be right, because she’s been pining, too.

He rolls over to check the clock beside the bed, and the bleeding red light tells him it’s 2:34 am. He groans and tries to tug some blanket back over himself, but whoever his bedmate is stops him from taking the whole thing. Toned, tanned arms wrap around his waist as his companion turns over and gathers him in an embrace and a kiss is dropped to his bare shoulder. 

Josh sighs. “Look, I’m sorry to do this to you in the middle of the night and all, but I seem to have made a really terrible mistake and I don’t want you to get the wrong idea, here.”

There’s silence for a moment, which is punctured by a familiar chuckle. Josh’s eyes widen, and he turns his head to find that it’s Sam behind him.

“Sam?” he manages, not quite believing his own eyes.

“Josh,” Sam says. There’s an unmistakable smile on his face.

Josh turns over again. Sam loosens his grip but doesn’t let go. Josh pulls away just enough to study Sam’s face, still with its grin firmly plastered in place, and blinks several times to make sure he’s not dreaming.

“But…” Josh manages. He rubs at his face. “Fuck, if this gets out, we’re gonna be in so much trouble.”

Sam...laughs. He has the gall to laugh, when Josh is maybe having the worst crisis of his life. It rumbles through him, and Josh can feel it where Sam’s arms are still locked around him.

“Alright, what’s the joke, here, because I’m feeling suspiciously left out,” Josh says with a frown.

“Josh, honey, how much vodka did you have last night?”

Josh recoils at the easy way Sam uses the pet name. “At least as much as you. Am I missing something?”

“The last three or so years, it seems,” Sam says. “You know we don’t work at the White House anymore, right?”

Ah...and  _ there’s _ the hangover. The last of his drunkenness fades away, and time comes rushing forward all at once. It had been Charlie’s birthday, but they’d celebrated at his and Zoey’s place in Maryland. Donna and Joey had left together because they live together in DC, now. The Tums were on the wrong side of the bed because they’re at a hotel, and Sam had unpacked them in a rush the afternoon before so they wouldn’t be late. 

They’ve been dating for three years.

“Oh, shit,” Josh mumbles, and he’s greeted with more of Sam’s laughter. Sam pulls him tight against his chest and rests his chin on top of Josh’s head. 

“God, you’re cute when you’re drunk,” Sam says. 

Josh grumbles into his skin. “Shut the hell up.”

Sam presses a kiss into his hair and buries his nose there, a habit he’s picked up in the time they’ve been together. He claims he loves the smell of Josh’s shampoo, but he uses the same one. Josh has always suspected it has something to do with the softness of his curls. 

“I was drafting my resignation letter,” Josh says. Sam shakes with silent laughter. “I was gonna walk up to the President and say I loved you too much to stay.”

Sam pulls back and looks Josh in the eyes. His hand comes up to rest on Josh’s cheek, firm but gentle, and there’s a soft smile on his face, the kind Josh always feels like he could drown in.

“Next time I’m making you drink two waters for every shot,” he teases. “You never could hold your alcohol.”

Josh rolls his eyes. “You’re barely any better.”

“I didn’t forget you were my boyfriend.”

“It was the middle of the night, I woke up in a strange bed—!”

His protests are cut off by Sam pressing his lips against Josh’s. His lips are soft, and he tastes like home, like late nights and takeout dinners, like close calls and quiet confessions. Josh sighs against him, wondering how the hell he could have forgotten.

Sam brushes their noses together when their mouths part. “I’ve got ibuprofen, too, if you want some to stave off that headache.”

“I’m alright,” Josh answers. “Thanks, though.”

“Mm.” Sam bumps his forehead against Josh’s. “Go back to sleep. We’ve got lunch with the Bartletts today, and I’m not above telling them you forgot all about me.”

“I didn’t!” Josh argues, but Sam only laughs and kisses him again, and again, and again.

It’s a lot easier to fall back asleep knowing he’s got what he always wanted.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks as always to my team  
> title from "quiet light" by the national  
> links to socials in profile


End file.
